NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Anne Bernstein

Tel: 858.452.1280

Oil Spill Disaster Prevention System Passes Test

June 25, 2001 (resent) ---- How do you test a disaster-prevention system without risking a disaster? A San Diego Company, MH Systems, did just that.

Twelve years ago, when the Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil, resulting in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 mandating that the current fleet of tankers serving the United States be replaced by “double-hull” tankers by the year 2015. Congress also included in the Act a section that encouraged the development of interim systems that would allow single-hull tankers to be made more safe during the remainder of their life, or until 2015.

Mo Husain, President of MH Systems, spent 10 years leading a team of engineers and scientists in the development of an advanced spill avoidance system—the American Underpressure System—as a means of preventing or eliminating oil spills on tankers involved in accidents. Funded by the Office of Naval Research, the test and validation was carried out before a coterie of government, shipping, oil and environmental executives, onboard USNS Shoshone, a reserve fleet tanker at the Port of Richmond, California. Also attending were representatives from the Office of Naval Research, safety observers from the United States Coast Guard, and several classification societies.

The final test on June 11, 2001 was a total success. Acting on radio command the test engineer simulated a hull rupture by opening a valve between the “cargo” tank and the “ocean” tank. The guests, watching the simulation in real time on a video monitor, observed no loss of cargo after the “rupture”. Mr. Husain and his colleagues declared the test to be a resounding success. If the Exxon Valdez had been fitted with this system, said Husain, 95% of the cargo would have been contained.

Prior to the final test, the hull and tank structure were subjected to negative pressure of over 3 PSI, as well as a gamut of safety tests, including retention of the inert gas blanket under negative pressures, and simulated air leaks while maintaining precise negative pressures. In addition, the USNS Shoshone, a 45-year-old tanker, showed no significant increase in stresses when monitored with strain gauges during the negative 3 PSI test.

Richmond Mayor Rosemary Corbin said “It would be nice if all single-hulled vessels get this system before they’re phased out.”

A brief summary of the test results will be posted on or before July 25, 2001.
Please visit our Web Site at http://www.mhsystemscorp.com

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Anne Bernstein

Tel: 858-452-1280

OIL TANKER’S SPILL AVOIDANCE SYSTEM TEST

June 6, 2001 . . . MH Systems has just learned that the on-schedule delivery of the Alaskan North Slope Crude Oil for the test of the American Underpressure System is in serious jeopardy. After intense efforts to confirm on-time delivery, MH Systems has reluctantly made the decision that the final test will be simulated with fresh water.

This decision has been made to avoid the possibility of having to abort the test. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has approved the use of fresh water. All other aspects of the test remain the same, except for the analysis of hydrocarbon vapor of crude oil under negative pressure in full scale. Mr. Husain, President of MH Systems, states that extensive data has been generated from the laboratory test with ANS crude, which after thorough analysis will provide sufficient information.

As previously stated, the test will take place onboard the USNS Shoshone which is located in the Port of Richmond, 301 W. Cutting Boulevard, Richmond, California on June 11th 2001, commencing at 11:00 a.m. PST.

For more details regarding attending the test please e-mail: corporate@mhsystemscorp.com - Attention Anne Bernstein, or call 858.452.1280.

For further information, visit our Website: http://www.mhsystemscorp.com

NAVAL ARCHITECTS AND ANALYSTS

10951 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 2F
San Diego, CA 92121 USA
Telephone: 858.452.1280
FAX: 858.452.6035

	Press
	In this section...
	Newsletter
	Navy News (2/22/00)
	Press Release

Press

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Judy Barnum

OIL TANKER’S SPILL AVOIDANCE SYSTEM TEST IS

SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 11, 2001.

May 14, 2001 -- - The full scale test of the American Underpressure System (AUPS), an advanced spill avoidance system, is scheduled for June 11, 2001. The test will be performed in the USNS Shoshone, a reserve fleet tanker on loan from the US Navy. The location of the test is Richmond, California near San Francisco. Approximately, 6300 barrels of Alaskan Crude Oil will be used for the test.

Mo Husain, President of MH Systems and developer of the AUPS states that the replacement of the world tanker fleet by a completely new fleet having double hulls will require enormous investment and many years of construction effort. While this takes place, environmentally unsafe tankers will continue to operate and accidents will inevitably occur. The Congress therefore mandated and funded a validation test of the AUPS system. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) of the U.S. Navy awarded a $2,060, 000.00 contract in July, 2000 to the naval architectural and analysis firm MH Systems, Inc. of San Diego, California for the test and validation of the American Underpressure System (AUPS) on a tanker of the reserve fleet.

The American Underpressure System (AUPS) was conceived in 1989 as means of virtually eliminating oil spills from tankers involved in accidents. The system modifies existing crude oil tankers so that their vulnerability to cargo loss is significantly reduced.

In the operational American Underpresure System, the design features for preventing Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission and preventing loss of cargo by evaporation will be included.

For the test, a hull-rupture will be represented by a valve-opening at the lowest point of the test tank bulkhead, allowing fluid to flow into an adjacent cargo tank, with no possibility of spillage outside the hull. Click here to see test schematic on board the USNS SHOSHONE

The public including foreign guests are welcome to witness the test on June 11, 2001 in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. For more details regarding attending the test please e-mail: corporate@mhsystemscorp.com - Attention Judy Barnum.

For further information, visit our website: www.mhsystemscorp.com

NEWS LETTER
Revised 5/12/01
CONTACT: HENRY M. HUNTER

OIL TANKERS' SPILL AVOIDANCE SYSTEM TEST TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR MAY 2001

The full-scale test of the American Underpressure System (AUPS), an Advanced Spill Avoidance System, is now tentatively scheduled for the end of May, 2001. Funded from the U.S. Navy office of Naval Research. The test will be performed onboard the Ready Reserve Fleet Navy Tanker USNS SHOSHONE in Richmond, California near San Francisco. In the meantime, please preview the following information.

The following chart shows an approximate statistical comparison of several proposed ship design alternatives for the reduction of oil spills.

The calculations assume an optimized tank arrangement, the MARPOL design, developed under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization. The basic MARPOL design, without added features, is shown as 100 percent in the leftmost bar. The remaining bars show the relative loss rate achieved by various improvement strategies, including the double hull and mid-deck structures that can be used in new construction, and the effect of reduces ullage space pressure as embodied in the Americal Underpressure System.

For further information, please visit our website: www.mhsystemscorp.com

[Return to top]

Press Release

Download *.doc (27.5 KB)

AMERICAN UNDERPRESSURE SYSTEM Advanced Spill Avoidance System for Oil Tankers

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: HENRY M. HUNTER

OIL TANKERS’ SPILL AVOIDANCE SYSTEM TEST UNDERWAY

August 21, 2000 - The Office of Naval Research (ONR) of the U.S. Navy awarded a $2,060,000.00 contract this July to the naval architectural and analysis firm, MH Systems, Inc. of San Diego, California for the test and validation of the American Underpressure System (AUPS) on a tanker of the Ready Reserve Fleet.

The American Underpressure System (AUPS) was conceived in 1989 as a means of virtually eliminating oil spills from tankers involved in accidents. The system modifies existing crude oil tankers so that their vulnerability to cargo loss is significantly reduced.

The AUPS creates a slight vacuum in the inerted ullage space above the oil within the tanks of an oil tanker, and dynamically controls this negative pressure and maintains inertness throughout the voyage. In the event of rupture(s), the pressure forces are balanced at the rupture location to prevent or minimize any outflow of oil.

According to Mr. Husain, the capability of AUPS to reduce spillage of oil in tanker accidents is in statistical terms, an approximate 65 % average reduction in outflow – about the same as that of a double hull. With appropriate engineering completed in advance, the AUPS could be retrofitted on an existing tanker in about a week.

For further information, visit our website: www.mhsystemscorp.com

###

MH Systems Gets Closer to Providing Green System For Single Hull Ships
Navy News, NN Volume 17, Number 8
By Lisa Troshinsky

MH Systems, Inc., a small, West Coast company that has invented a system to minimize accidental oil spillage from single-hulled ships, is finally receiving some long-promised governmental funds for testing. Mo Husain, company president and system inventor, hopes this is the first step on the road to having his system being accepted as a phase-out option until the compliance deadline of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 of 2015, at which time all new U.S. ships must be double hulled and no single-hulled tankers will be accepted into U.S. ports.

MH Systems' American Underpressure System (AUPS) is one of three systems being considered as environmentally friendly complements to OPA'90. All of them have been presented in hearings before the House Transportation Committee, but have yet to be certified by the Coast Guard to be retrofitted on existing tankers and barges. The International Maritime Organization also has come up with double hull regulations requiring member countries to retire single hull ships after 30 years of service and either put in a middle deck or replace it with a double hull. The United Kingdom is interested in the AUPS, said.

Husain told Navy News that given that OPA, '90 contains language requiring the government to consider alternatives, and the fact that CPA '90 compliance is lagging, his system offers a financially reasonable solution.

[Return to top]